Coronavirus: Florida breaks COVID-19 deaths record for 3rd straight day

60 more deaths in Miami-Dade, 38 in Broward

A sign informs customers at the Edison Hotel restaurant about wearing a protective face mask during the coronavirus pandemic Friday along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. (Lynne Sladky, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida has set a record for new coronavirus-related deaths for a third straight day, reporting 253 more residents’ deaths along with 9,956 new COVID-19 cases Thursday.

The state had set records for new deaths reported both Tuesday (186) and Wednesday (216). The fatalities announced on a given day are not necessarily all from the previous 24 hours.

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Florida is now up to 461,379 cases and 6,586 resident deaths attributed to the virus since the start of the outbreak, according to the Florida Department of Health. At least 123 more nonresidents have died in Florida.

The new deaths announced Thursday include 60 in Miami-Dade County, 38 in Broward County and 11 in Palm Beach County.

Florida last weekend passed New York and now has the second-most cases in the United States, behind only California.

Now the state must contend with the overlap of a pandemic and hurricane season, with many COVID-19 testing locations closing as Tropical Storm Isaias approaches.

County-by-county

In the past day, Miami-Dade County’s confirmed COVID-19 cases increased by 2,773 to 115,916. The county has 1,515 coronavirus-related deaths, the highest total in the state.

Broward’s cases increased by 1,342 to 54,312. The county’s death toll is now at 676.

Palm Beach County’s cases increased by 525 to 32,696, with the death toll now at 806.

Monroe County is now listed with 1,230 cases, a one-day increase of 32, and six deaths.

Florida has confirmed at least 26,017 coronavirus-related hospitalizations since the start of the outbreak.

Tracking the records

Florida’s most cases announced in a day: 15,300 on July 12

Florida’s most resident deaths announced in a day: 253 on July 30

Miami-Dade’s most cases announced in a day: 3,576 on July 12

Broward’s most cases announced in a day: 1,772 on July 12

Palm Beach’s most cases announced in a day: 1,171 on July 12

Monroe’s most cases announced in a day: 84 on July 24

Positivity rates

Florida has seen a notable increase in the rate of COVID-19 tests that are coming back positive, showing that the rise in cases is caused by more than just increased testing.

Statewide, Florida reports having completed over 3.5 million tests for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, with 12.87% coming back positive. The state says its target is to stay below 10% positivity.

The rate of positivity among people tested for COVID-19 across Florida topped out at over 18% for tests processed July 8. Positivity statewide has remained between 11% and 13% throughout the past week. (This percentage is the number of people who test positive for the first time divided by all the people tested that day, excluding people who have previously tested positive.)

A look at the percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive in Florida over recent days. (Florida Department of Health)

Here’s a look at how those percentages have trended in Miami-Dade and Broward counties:

MIAMI-DADE

  • 6/13 – 3.0%
  • 6/14 – 8.9%
  • 6/15 – 9.0%
  • 6/16 – 12.8%
  • 6/17 – 11.2%
  • 6/18 – 11.1%
  • 6/19 – 11.7%
  • 6/20 – 13.3%
  • 6/21 – 8.9%
  • 6/22 – 18.1%
  • 6/23 – 19.6%
  • 6/24 – 10.2%
  • 6/25 – 14.2%
  • 6/26 – 14.0%
  • 6/27 – 17.7%
  • 6/28 – 18.5%
  • 6/29 – 17.7%
  • 6/30 – 18.2%
  • 7/1 – 19.5%
  • 7/2 – 20.9%
  • 7/3 – 18.9%
  • 7/4 – 20.5%
  • 7/5 – 19.9%
  • 7/6 – 20.9%
  • 7/7 – 21.9%
  • 7/8 – 26.3%
  • 7/9 – 20.3%
  • 7/10 – 21.5%
  • 7/11 – 16.6%
  • 7/12 – 20.3%
  • 7/13 – 22.2%
  • 7/14 – 20.0%
  • 7/15 – 18.6%
  • 7/16 – 18.3%
  • 7/17 – 17.5%
  • 7/18 – 20.6%
  • 7/19 – 22.7%
  • 7/20 – 19.3%
  • 7/21 – 16.7%
  • 7/22 – 18.6%
  • 7/23 – 19.8%
  • 7/24 – 19.7%
  • 7/25 – 18.1%
  • 7/26 – 18.2%
  • 7/27 – 17.5%
  • 7/28 – 16.3%
  • 7/29 – 17.8%

BROWARD

  • 6/13 – 2.7%
  • 6/14 – 5.1%
  • 6/15 – 7.6%
  • 6/16 – 9.8%
  • 6/17 – 7.3%
  • 6/18 – 8.9%
  • 6/19 – 9.7%
  • 6/20 – 9.6%
  • 6/21 – 6.1%
  • 6/22 – 10.2%
  • 6/23 – 10.7%
  • 6/24 – 6.4%
  • 6/25 – 11.4%
  • 6/26 – 10.2%
  • 6/27 – 10.4%
  • 6/28 – 12.0%
  • 6/29 – 13.5%
  • 6/30 – 14.7%
  • 7/1 – 13.5%
  • 7/2 – 16.2%
  • 7/3 – 14.0%
  • 7/4 – 16.3%
  • 7/5 – 15.9%
  • 7/6 – 12.9%
  • 7/7 – 14.0%
  • 7/8 – 22.5%
  • 7/9 – 14.9%
  • 7/10 – 15.8%
  • 7/11 – 13.4%
  • 7/12 – 13.8%
  • 7/13 – 16.0%
  • 7/14 – 14.8%
  • 7/15 – 16.6%
  • 7/16 – 14.3%
  • 7/17 – 13.7%
  • 7/18 – 12.6%
  • 7/19 – 17.6%
  • 7/20 – 15.1%
  • 7/21 – 12.3%
  • 7/22 – 14.1%
  • 7/23 – 15.7%
  • 7/24 – 12.9%
  • 7/25 – 12.2%
  • 7/26 – 13.2%
  • 7/27 – 10.8%
  • 7/28 – 12.7%
  • 7/29 – 13.8%

Hospitals and testing

Hospital leaders and medical workers on the front lines are closely watching dwindling bed space and some have had to increase their ICU capacity to treat patients.

The state tracks its hospital space by county and by facility, which can be seen here.

Five new federally-funded testing sites have recently opened in South Florida as increased demand for tests has led to longer lines and delays with getting results back.

The state has also added self-swab testing at some of its sites — including Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale — in an attempt to speed up the process.

Latest totals

The United States has passed 4.4 million confirmed cases, with over 150,000 deaths from COVID-19, the highest numbers in the world. Over 1.3 million Americans have been deemed recovered, according to data compiled from various sources by Johns Hopkins University.

Worldwide, the number of COVID-19 cases reported has surpassed 17 million. There have been more than 667,000 deaths worldwide attributed to the pandemic, with over 9.9 million being declared recovered.

Florida’s daily new cases have trended as follows:

  • Thursday: 9,956
  • Wednesday: 9,446
  • Tuesday: 9,230
  • Monday: 8,892
  • Sunday: 9,344
  • Saturday: 12,199
  • Friday: 12,444
  • July 23: 10,249
  • July 22: 9,785
  • July 21: 9,440
  • July 20: 10,347
  • July 19: 12,478
  • July 18: 10,328
  • July 17: 11,466
  • July 16: 13,965
  • July 15: 10,181
  • July 14: 9,194
  • July 13: 12,624
  • July 12: 15,300
  • July 11: 10,360
  • July 10: 11,433
  • July 9: 8,935
  • July 8: 9,989
  • July 7: 7,347
  • July 6: 6,336
  • July 5: 10,059
  • July 4: 11,458
  • July 3: 9,488
  • July 2: 10,109
  • July 1: 6,563
  • June 30: 6,093
  • June 29: 5,266
  • June 28: 8,530
  • June 27: 9,585
  • June 26: 8,942
  • June 25: 5,004
  • June 24: 5,511
  • June 23: 3,289
  • June 22: 2,926
  • June 21: 3,494
  • June 20: 4,049
  • June 19: 3,822
  • June 18: 3,207
  • June 17: 2,610
  • June 16: 2,783
  • June 15: 1,758
  • June 14: 2,016
  • June 13: 2,581
  • June 12: 1,902
  • June 11: 1,698
  • June 10: 1,371
  • June 9: 1,096

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